Sir,
This has reference to the editorial’Defunct ISM Institutions’ (DE,Dec 9 2017). It is sad that as many as 120 Indian System of Medicines (ISM) institutions including hospitals and dispensaries are lying defunct in rural and hilly areas for want of doctors and paramedical staff.This is owing to the fact that majority of doctors are posted in the urban areas of the state, mostly in the capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar.The fact that such a large number of institutions are lying defunct across the state is bound to affect the healthcare of people in the rural and far flung areas.Keeping in view the poor socio economic conditions and remote location,the focus of the Government should be on provision of health care facilities to the people residing in rural and farflung areas.Owing to poor road network and transport facilites coupled with backwardness and lack of awareness, the people of such areas need more such facilities.Moreover,they can’t afford to go to the big hospitals in cities for minor ailments.Thus,it is imperative that medical facilities are provided to these people at their doorsteps.But surprisingly,such areas have, by and large, suffered neglect not only in terms of medical facilities but also in educational facilities.There have been reports in newspapers that a large number of vacancies of teaching staff are existing in the schools falling in hilly and farflung areas.It badly affects the teaching -learning activities of students studying in such areas.Therefore, the Government ought to frame a policy to provide good health and educational facilites to the people living in rural and hilly areas to improve their socio economic condition.The newly recruited teachers and doctors and other staff must be mandatorily posted in hilly areas for a minimum of five years.The officers and employees selected in the category of RBA/ALC must be posted in the notified Backward /ALC areas for a minimum of seven years, as per the Reservation Act. The Government need to act tough on those employees who are selected in RBA/ALC category but unwilling to serve in these areas as also on those officers who order postings of employees in violation to the Reservation Act. Similarly, the Government ought to fill in the vacancies of doctors and teachers in these areas on the fast track basis and order the detachments of all staff with strict orders to report to their original places of posting, Only then the educational and healthcare facilities can be provided to the people living in rural and hilly areas and the plight of the people living in such areas can be bettered.
Yours etc….
Ashok Sharma,
Udhampur.
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